The Most Virtues Fast- Mufti Minhajuddin Ahmed

The Most Virtuous Fast

The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: "The best fasting after the month of Ramadan is the month of Allah, which you call Al-Muharram. And the best prayer after the obligatory prayer is Qiyam Al-Layl."

By the respected brothers and sisters in Islam, As-salamu alaykum wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuh.

Indeed, it is the favour of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, that He has brought upon us a new year. Yesterday, Thursday, the 15th of October, was the first of Muharram in this new calendar year that has begun. I would like to take this opportunity to remind ourselves regarding the auspiciousness of this month, and in particular the Day of Ashura that is coming upon us — the 10th of this month.

The Sanctity of Time

We have to remind ourselves that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is the creator of all time and space. He chooses and grants certain times and certain days value over other days. Certain times and certain places are considered more sacred in the eyes of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, over other days and other nights.

In this hadith of Rasulullah, the Prophet of Allah, he mentions that the most valuable and virtuous fast after the fast of Ramadan is the fast of the month of Allah — Shahrullah — the one that you call Muharram. And likewise, the most virtuous prayer after the obligatory prayer is standing up in the night, the Tahajjud prayer.

This is a hadith from Sahih Muslim, narrated by Abu Hurairah. And in this hadith, Rasulullah used a superlative degree — he said the best fast, the most virtuous fast, is the fast of the month of Muharram.

Reconciling the Virtues of Different Fasts

The scholars were studying this hadith and came to a conclusion after facing certain apparent contradictions. They found virtues mentioned in the books of hadith for fasting on days outside of Muharram. For example, there are virtues for fasting on the Day of Arafah — the ninth of Dhul Hijjah. Likewise, there are virtues for fasting in the first nine days of Dhul Hijjah. The tenth day, of course, it is prohibited to fast because it is the day of Eid. But the first nine days of Dhul Hijjah — fasting in those days is very valuable.

Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, has even taken an oath by those days in the Quran:

Then we also have the six days of Shawwal. Right after the month of Ramadan, we know that Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said that the one who fasts in the month of Ramadan and follows it up by six days in the month of Shawwal will receive the reward as if he has fasted his whole life — the whole year.

So how do we reconcile that? The scholars say that yes, it is possible for specific days outside of the month of Muharram to be highly rewarding in the eyes of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. But if you want to take Sawm al-Mutlaq — meaning generally fasting the whole month, any random day — then the month of Muharram is the month in which it is most rewarding to fast any random day of the week.

Just like, if you look at the second part of the hadith — Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said the most rewarding nafl prayer after the fardh prayer is the Tahajjud prayer. Whereas we know that the Sunnah Muakkadah — the Sunnah of Fajr prayer, the Sunnah of four rak'ah before Dhuhr, the Sunnah after Maghrib, the Sunnah after Isha — the Sunnah that is Muakkadah, the highly emphasized Sunnah, is more rewarding than the Tahajjud prayer, and is more important. In fact, it is a major sin if a person continuously leaves those Sunnahs.

That is why what this hadith means is: those ibadaat, whether they are fasts or prayers, that are attached with the fardh — like the Sunnah before the fardh prayer, the Sunnah after the fardh prayer — are of course more rewarding than Tahajjud. Likewise, that fast which is before Ramadan or after Ramadan — the fast of Sha'ban or the fast of Shawwal — is attached with Ramadan and does not have its virtue on its own. That will be more rewarding. But when you come to the fast of Muharram, which stands by itself, without being attached to any fardh, it is the most rewarding fast of the year.

Muharram: The Month of Allah

Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, has given us this month which is known as Ashhur al-Haram — the sacred months. There are four sacred months in the year: Dhul-Qa'dah, Dhul-Hijjah, and Muharram — these three together — and Rajab by itself. Fasting in these months in general, and particularly in the month of Ramadan, is highly rewarding.

Why is this month called Shahrullah? Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, attributed this month directly to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. From all twelve months in the year, this is the only month which has been directly attributed to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. This is known as Idafah Tashrifiyyah — this attribution is to add honour to this month.

Just like we have the term Baytullah — the House of Allah. Baytullah, the House of Allah, does not mean that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, lives in the Ka'bah. When we say Bayt Zayd, the house of Zayd, that means this is the house where he resides. When we say Baytullah, the House of Allah, it does not mean Allah resides in the Ka'bah — rather this is an attribution to add honour to the house.

Likewise in the Quran we have the example of Naqatullah — the she-camel of Allah. This is not a camel that Allah rode on. If you say the camel belongs to Allah, then all the camels and everything in the world belongs to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala — the kingdom of the heavens and the earth is His. But why was this camel called Naqatullah? Because it was specially attributed to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. This was not a normal she-camel. This was the camel that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, brought out from the mountain at the time of Salih, alayhi salam, when his people were compelling him to show them a miracle. They said: if you are truly a prophet of Allah, then bring out for us a camel from this rock. And Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, brought out the camel from the rock. That is why it is known as the Naqatullah.

So likewise — Baytullah, Naqatullah — this month is known as Shahrullah, the month of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala: this Muharram.

Fasting: The Ibadah Directly Attributed to Allah

We have established that this month is attributed to Allah to grant it honour. The scholars have also mentioned a very beautiful point: from all the ibadaat, which is that ibadah which is directly attributed to Allah? It is fasting. How is that so? It comes in the hadith of Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him:

"All the actions of the son of Adam are for him, except for fasting — which is directly for Me, and I will reward him for it."

Fasting is directly for Allah. What does that mean? When we perform other ibadaat, like the Jumu'ah Salah, we are doing it for Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, naturally and hopefully that is our intention. But the nature of Jumu'ah Salah is such that we cannot perform it on our own. We cannot hide and perform it without anyone finding out — because the condition for Jumu'ah is that it must be performed in jama'ah, in congregation. We have to perform it collectively.

Whereas the nature of fasting is such that no one has to know about it. When you are fasting, it is not written on your face or on your shirt. In fact, the pious Salaf of the past used to go out of their way to hide their condition when fasting. They used to act like they were drinking water when coming publicly into the masjid, while they would actually be spitting the water back out.

Some of the Salaf kept this so hidden, even from their employees and family members. It is mentioned by one of the Salaf in the Lata'if al-Ma'arif of Ibn Rajab al-Hanbali that every single day he would take his lunch from home, and his family members would imagine that he was eating his lunch — that is why they would prepare it for him. But on the way to work, he would give it in sadaqah to different fuqara' and needy people. At work, when lunchtime came, he would go out to the masjid and engage in his ibadah — performing Salat al-Duha and nafl prayers — and his family would imagine he had gone home to eat lunch. So the people at home were giving him his lunch, and even his wife would be preparing it for him, but he was hiding his good deed.

If this is something we find very strange — how can you hide something from your wife — then unfortunately the opposite is very common. People hide things from their wives. The only difference is: we are not hiding good deeds from our wives, we are hiding sins from our wives. So it is the same philosophy. The way we hide sins from our spouses, the way the wife hides sins from her husband — the Salaf used that same capacity, but instead of hiding sins, they were hiding good deeds. We are both the same with regards to hiding — but what we are hiding is very different indeed.

So that action which has been directly attributed to Allah — fasting — should be done in the month which is directly attributed to Allah — the month of Muharram. This is the most befitting.

The Three Sets of Ten Sacred Days

Which days in Muharram are the most rewarding? These first ten days. Today is the second day of Muharram.

Abu Uthman al-Nahdi mentions that the pious predecessors of the past used to highly regard three sets of ten days:

First: The last ten days of Ramadan. Well known — they receive a lot of coverage. Everyone knows about the last ten days of Ramadan. The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to make I'tikaf in them. The last ten days of Ramadan is where Laylatul Qadr is.

Second: The first ten days of Dhul Hijjah. These are the days that Allah has taken an oath by.

Third: The first ten days of Muharram.

Musa and the Ten Days of Muharram

It has come in one narration that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, instructed Musa, alayhi salam, to engage in ibadah for 30 days — to prepare him spiritually to receive the revelation, the Tawrah. Before Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, granted him the Tawrah, he had to undergo spiritual training for 30 days.

This is very similar to what Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, had to undergo. Before his first Wahy, he used to go into the cave of Hira on Jabal al-Nur — the Mountain of Light — and he was doing muraqabah and ibadah of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. The technical term for that type of worship of Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, before Prophethood is known as ta'abbud. He was purifying his heart and preparing it to receive revelation.

The second revelation that came instructed him:

"O you wrapped in garments — stand up in the night, except a little. Half of it, or lessen it a little. Or add to it. And recite the Quran slowly with contemplation. Verily, We will soon cast upon you a heavy word."

So it's the opposite of what one might think: Qumil Layl — stand up in the night in ibadah — illa qalilan — except a little you may sleep. Half the night you may sleep, or less than half the night. One third of the night you might sleep, two thirds stay in ibadah. Why? Because Sanuqi 'alayka qawlan thaqeela — in the near future I am going to reveal upon you a Kalam which is very heavy, and you will need to spiritually train yourself to bear it.

Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, is saying it's heavy — so how heavy must it truly be? Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, says: if this had been revealed upon the mountains, what would happen?

The mountains would crumble and turn into dust from the fear of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. They would not be able to bear it. Imagine then the heart of Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, that he was able to withstand the pressure of this Wahy. Thaqeelun is a relative term. A child will say this is too heavy, I can't pick it up — but an Olympic gold-medal weightlifter will pick up something ten or a hundred times that weight in a second. So when Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, says thaqeelan, it is truly heavy indeed.

So likewise, Musa, alayhi salam, also underwent training. After 30 days of training he came before Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala — and Allah said: no, you are still not ready. You need additional time. Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, says in the Quran:

You need an additional 10 days of preparation — 10 days of continual ibadah, muraqabah, and i'tikaf for Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. After those 10 days, he completed the full period of 40 days. After completing 40 days, Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, said: now you are ready to receive the Torah.

It comes in the hadith that those 10 days that were added to complete the 40 days of Musa, alayhi salam — those are these very 10 days. This is the second day of those 10 days: the first 10 days of Muharram. These are the days that were added to Musa, alayhi salam. And when did he complete it? On the 10th day. So on the 10th day — the Ashura of Muharram — was the day that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, revealed the Torah and granted it to Musa, alayhi salam.

Then Musa, alayhi salam, continued this habit with the Bani Israel. Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, revealed to him: just as you worshipped Me these 10 days, also command your people to engage in extra ibadah in these first 10 days of Muharram. Then on the 10th day, let them come out before Me and beg — and I will grant them forgiveness and maghfirah on the 10th day.

Beginning and Ending the Year with Good Deeds

In the end of Dhul Hijjah we have been encouraged to fast, and we see from the habit of the Salaf that they used to fast. So what is the purpose? When a person fasts at the end of the year and fasts at the beginning of the year — at the end of the year doing good deeds, at the beginning of the year doing good deeds — then we have many basharaat and glad tidings that this can be a means of forgiveness for everything that occurred during the whole year.

Number one: when a book of good deeds is taken up to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, and Allah sees that in the beginning of the book there are good deeds, and in the end of the book there are good deeds, then Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, tells the angels: be my witness that I have forgiven for my slave everything in between.

Likewise, it comes in al-Tabarani and others, that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, says: O son of Adam, remember Me in the beginning of the day for a little while, and remember Me in the end of the day for a little while. That's all I'm asking — if you can remember Me a little in the beginning of the day, and a little at the end of the day, then I will forgive for you everything committed during the day.

This theme is repeated throughout the Quran — mornings and evenings, before the rising of the sun, before the setting of the sun — this is the time to make du'a, dhikr, and ibadah to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Ibn Mubarak said: the one who finishes his day with the dhikr of Allah, Allah will write his whole day as dhikr, insha'Allah.

So what counts is how we end the year and how we begin the year. If we end the year with the ibadah of Allah and begin the year with fasting, Allah will forgive us for the rest of the year.

Tawbah at the Beginning of the New Year

The second important thing is that the beginning of the year is the time for a person to make tawbah nasuh — sincere repentance to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

You have passed all the months of the year in ghaflah — in heedlessness. You did not respect the sanctity of the months that Allah had given. You did not fulfill the haqq of Rajab, nor did you fast the month of Ramadan as it deserved to be fasted. Nor in the ten nights of Dhul Hijjah did you make any extra ibadah. And the whole year passed in heedlessness and ghaflah, oblivious to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

Now at the beginning of the next year, the opportunity — rather the right and obligation upon you — is to have sincere regret over how you have passed the year, and to cry and shed tears in front of Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala. Now you can make istiqbal — welcome — the new year with such sincere repentance. Perhaps this can become a means of forgiveness for the sins of the past year.

So this is an opportunity for us. The end of the year is the time for muhasabah, and the beginning of the new year is the time for tawbah. What is muhasabah? Muhasabah is reflection over what we have done in the past year — making tawbah to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, for how we have passed, and making sincere determination to insha'Allah spend the coming year in a manner pleasing to Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala.

The Four Stages of the Fast of Ashura

If we are weak — and when the moon of Ramadan is sighted we fast, and when the moon of Eid al-Fitr comes that is it, and there is no fasting in our book for the rest of the year — if that is unfortunately our case, then at the very least we should fast the 10th of Dhul Hijjah, or the 10th of Muharram, which is known as Ashura.

Along with the 10th, singling out the 10th by itself is in fact makruh — disliked. That is because the fast of Ashura passed through different stages:

First stage: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, used to fast on the 10th but would not ask anyone else to fast. He used to individually observe it, even in Makkah, before the Hijrah. In fact, it comes in one narration that even the mushrikeen in the Jahiliyyah used to fast it. When he asked about this, it was said: the Quraish had sinned in the Jahiliyyah and had a burden in their hearts, so they were told to fast on the Ashura — on the 10th of Muharram — as a means of seeking forgiveness. So even the Jahiliyyah Quraish used to fast on Ashura for forgiveness from their sins. So that was the first stage: the Prophet fasted, but did not ask anyone else to fast.

Second stage: The Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, came to Madinah al-Munawwarah after the Hijrah and saw the Jews fasting. He asked them why they were fasting. They said: this is the day that Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, saved Musa, alayhi salam, and the Bani Israel from Fir'aun. Fir'aun and his army drowned on this day, and Musa, alayhi salam, and the Bani Israel were saved. So Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said:

"We have more right to be thankful for the blessing of Allah upon Musa than you."

So Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, fasted and ordered everyone to fast. This was the second stage, where it was an order — it was fardh, it was wajib. Everyone used to fast, even the children and even the young ones. And it remained fardh.

Third stage: When Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, made the fasting of Ramadan obligatory, Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: now fasting on Ashura is not fardh anymore. Whoever wants to fast can fast — they will be rewarded and it will be a means of kaffarah and forgiveness for the sins of one year. And whoever cannot fast does not have to fast.

Fourth stage: Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: if I live till next year, I will also fast the 9th and the 11th. I don't want to fast only the 10th anymore — to have our ibadah be unique from the ibadah of the Jews, we should add either the 9th or the 11th. But Rasulullah, peace and blessings be upon him, passed away before the next year came. So that is the fourth and final stage: we should fast the 10th along with the 9th or the 11th, whichever one is possible for us.

Closing Du'a

May Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, give us tawfiq and make this a year of barakah and blessing for us and the entire ummah. And may Allah allow us to sincerely repent from the sins of the past year. May Allah, subhanahu wa ta'ala, make this new year a means of barakah for us, for the ummah, and a means for us to pass it in a manner pleasing to Him.